Borders Book Stores May Start Closing Friday

Borders Books will begin liquidating almost immediately, and stores will begin closing on Friday. It's the final chapter in the bookseller's struggle to remain intact after declaring bankruptcy.

The company, which tried through this past weekend to find a buyer, announced Monday evening it would proceed with a proposal from a private equity firm to close its last 399 stores. The plan will be presented to the court on Thursday and could be implemented the following day.

"Following the best efforts of all parties, we are saddened by this development," said Borders Group President Mike Edwards. "We were all working hard towards a different outcome, but the headwinds we have been facing for quite some time, including the rapidly changing book industry, eReader revolution, and turbulent economy, have brought us to where we are now."

Assuming the bankruptcy court approves the plan, liquidation would start immediately and be completed by September. It would result in the loss of the last 10,700 jobs with the company.

Borders was founded in Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1971 by two University of Michigan students and quickly became a leading book retailer. By 2003 it had over 1,200 stores worldwide.

Intense competition with rival Barnes and Noble, online book sales and the advent of the e-reader began to take a heavy toll shortly afterward. The company filed for bankruptcy in February.

The company made a last ditch effort earlier this month to sell itself, but the deal failed to win approval from Borders' creditors. When it set this past weekend as a deadline to auction itself off, the deadline passed without a bidder coming forward.

While not all stores will close on Friday, many will. Consumers who are still holding gift cards or gift certificates should waste no time in redeeming them. The liquidation announcement made no mention of gift card policies, so consumers should inquire at individual stores.

Generally speaking, once the liquidator takes over, gift cards and credits from the previous retailer are no longer honored.